Brewers name Minor League Players, Pitcher of the Year

3B Mat Gamel and SS Alcides Escobar were named Milwaukee’s Minor League Players of the Year, while RHP Jeremy Jeffress was named the club’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year as recipients of the 2008 Robin Yount Performance Awards.

In Double-A Huntsville, Gamel, 23, hit .329 (second-best in the Southern League) with 19 homers and a league-leading 96 RBIs. In the last two weeks, he was promoted to Triple-A Nashville and then to the big-league club. He played in the MLB All-Star Futures Game and was named to Double-A mid-season and post-season All-Star teams.

Escobar, 21, joined Gamel on the Southern League All-Star rosters. He led the league with 179 hits and ranked third with a .328 average. Escobar (pictured), nicknamed Inspector Gadget for his fielding tools, was also recalled by Milwaukee when rosters expanded Monday.

Jeffress, 20, pitched for Class A Brevard County and at Huntsville this season, compiling a 6-7 record with a 4.31 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 94 innings. The 2006 first-round pick missed a chunk of the early season due to a drug suspension.